Extensive crop and vegetable farming loss due to Cyclone Dana leaves Odisha farmers in lurch

Though no causalities were reported due to Cyclone Dana in Odisha, the severe cyclonic storm caused a massive crop and vegetable farming loss in Bhadrak and Balasore leaving the farmers in disarray.

Heavy to very heavy rainfall accompanied by gusty wind with speed reaching up to 100-100 kmph during landfall has damaged standing crops on thousands of acres of farmland in the districts.

The farmers of Parikula under Sadar block in Balasore district, who had faced the wrath of flooding a couple of months back, were limping back to normalcy. But, now, Cyclone Dana has again pushed them into trouble by causing extensive crop loss.

Also Read: Cyclone Dana: Around 36 lakh people affected in Odisha, says Minister

“I have borrowed money for the farming. Then flooding and now the cyclone has left us in despair. All our paddy crop will be damaged as the farmland is still submerged under knee-deep water. We are left with no option than committing suicide due to the loan burden,” rued a farmer.

Echoing the same, another farmer said, “I have taken loan to carry out farming on my two acres of land. But, we faced loss twice for flood and cyclone.”

Notably, the severe cyclonic Storm Dana made landfall somewhere between Bhitarkanika in Kendrapara and Dhamra in Bhadrak on October 24-25. The cyclone affected 1,671 gram panchayats under 108 blocks across 14 districts and 426 wards in 31 urban areas.

As per the State Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari, a total of 35,95,000 people in the State have been affected by the cyclone while standing crops on 1.75 lakh hectares of land have been severely damaged.